History is full of lessons for how water crises could have been avoided or better managed. On World Water Day, this March 22, I urge governments to act now so that history will show that we took resolute action when needed, rather than leave us with costly regrets.

Faced with an existential task to go green or go bust, Asia leaders realize that only by adopting progressive, greener methods will they be able to achieve sustainable economic growth without causing devastating impacts.

The crisis of sustainability is a distinctly global crisis, but one that manifests itself in different ways in different places. As we learn more about how to solve problems caused by West Virginia's chemical contamination of its drinking water, we may have lessons to offer local governments in China.

The United Nations must become the functional center of the global sustainable development effort, one that draws on every stakeholder through the UN's unique convening power and universally recognized legitimacy.

At an ocean conference in China last October, renowned American oceanographer Sylvia Earle told participants that "we must think of taking care of the ocean as if our lives depended on it....because they do!"

"One must understand that we were a colonial state until 1981 and that effect, while it persists today, back when I was dreaming it, was not a dream a young man could have. It would keep me in poverty was the thought. I went to the university and I studied business administration."

I am looking through a luxury magazine in an airport transit lounge. Back home, my country, the Philippines is in the challenging attempt at helping our people hit by the super typhoon of all time: Yolanda/Haiyan.

I'm pleased to be co-hosting an awards ceremony this week celebrating global 'momentum for change' at the United Nations climate talks in Warsaw. So far, the news out of Warsaw doesn't seem to warrant a celebration.

Cities are epicenters of creativity, innovation, adventures, energy, and life. They're moving, breathing, and living. Cities have a heart, personality, and looks. But a city lacks one thing: a voice. Thanks to the Internet of Things, this is quickly changing.

'Mitigation' is not mysterious. It simply means taking reasonable steps to avoid harm to our natural resources, reducing that harm as much as possible if it can't be avoided and compensating for any harm that remains.

On UN Day, the international community looks inward, celebrating the anniversary of when the United Nations Charter first took effect in 1945. Yet more and more, the UN appears to be focusing outward as it tackles the world's most pressing development issues.

I'd given away a lot of my clothes after making the decision to leave Los Angeles, but after several months it didn't make sense to keep my Fendi heels to wear in a rugged Maui jungle. I had been a classic female adorer of clothes all my life and now some adjustments had to be made to fit my new lifestyle.

The potential for human progress, for social learning and technological development should not be underestimated. Crisis, tragedy and human misery will never end; but as a species we seem to show the capacity to grow and learn.

Existing government energy and emissions policies are often based on misconceptions that lead to ineffective or even counterproductive outcomes. The contradictions in policy belie the poverty of analysis and overabundance of ideology that have gone into crafting them.